Night of Freedom
by Alliecallienip
Summary: Sequel to Beautiful! Read that first!!!


DISCLAIMER: Monica, Tess and Andrew do not belong to me. They belong to  
Martha Williamson and Moon Water Productions. BUT REBEKAH'S MINE! *giggle* Use her if you wish,  
but lemme read!  
  
NOTE: This is the sequel to 'Beautiful'. If you haven't read that one yet, please read it before  
this one or it may not make a speck of sense. *grins* I like this one.  
  
  
Monica sat straight up in bed, her heart beating wildly. After a moment, she calmed down  
enough to rationalize. 'What woke me up?' she asked herself. She surveyed the room from her  
vantage point from her bed. Nothing seemed to be out of place, but she got out of bed and  
flicked on the light anyway. The clothes she had worn the day before were safe in the hamper,  
the coffee pot unplugged, Rebekah in her cage. Her heart sank. Rebekah WASN'T in her cage.  
And if she wasn't in the aquarium.. "Oh, no," she whispered softly.  
  
Monica had gotten the 4-foot Burmese Python just a few days before. Tess wasn't particularly  
fond of the snake, but Andrew didn't seem to mind her. But just to say that Tess didn't like  
Rebekah was putting it mildly: she HATED her. And now the snake was loose. Monica wisely  
decided to withhold that information from her supervisor until Rebekah was found and put back  
in her cage.  
  
She tiptoed into the next room, where Andrew occupied the bed. Shaking him gently, she  
whispered, "Andrew, wake up. I need some help." He mumbled a bit, and stirred in his sleep,  
but didn't wake. "Andrew!" she hissed, shaking him more firmly.  
  
"Monica?" he asked sleepily. "Whatdyoo want?"  
  
Monica sighed in relief. At least now she'd have some help searching for her pet. "Andrew,  
Rebekah got out of her cage. I don't know how, but she did. And I can't find her."  
  
That got his attention. "Rebekah's missing!?" Monica nodded. "Shoot!" He sat straight up in  
bed. "Does Tess know?" Monica shook her head.  
  
"Do y'think I'm CRAZY?" she asked. "She - she'd have my head in an instant."  
  
"Good." Andrew pulled the covers back to reveal soft flannel pants and an old tee-shirt. "She  
was in her cage when you went to bed, right?"  
  
"That's right."  
  
"And when you got up - wait a minute, what were you up so early for in the first place?" He  
eyed her curiously.  
  
"A noise woke me up - maybe Rebekah knocking the lid off her cage?"  
  
He nodded grimly. "Maybe." He stared at Monica for a second, clad in a soft cotton sleep-suit  
with coffee cups on it. "Let's go. Do you have a flashlight?"  
  
She nodded. "There's one in my bedside drawer."  
  
"Good."  
  
Andrew and Monica both hurriedly retreated to her room. When they aimed the flashlight at  
Rebekah's cage, however, both looked VERY confused. The lid was shut tight. But inside,  
there was no trace of her..and there was no way a 4-foot snake could hide in it without being  
seen. Monica groaned inwardly. If Tess found out -  
  
"Hey." Andrew's voice was quiet. "Don't panic. And be quiet - we don't want Tess to wake  
up." Monica nodded in agreement. "Now come on - this room isn't that big. We should be able  
to find Rebekah with no problem."  
  
"I hope so," Monica said softly. Tho it had just been a few days, she was attached to the reptile.  
He shot her a sideways glance.  
  
"You really like that critter, don't you," he chuckled.  
  
She nodded slowly and agreed. "I really do.  
  
^v^  
  
I slid slowly across the floor, mischief shining in my eyes. I had escaped. Freedom was mine. Of  
course, I knew I would be caught, but was determined to make the most out of the time I had. I  
flickered my tongue out, catching the smell of coffee. Working hard, I managed to work my  
way up to where my mistress kept the drink...the maker, and the beans. With a swift, fluid  
motion I knocked the coffee maker to the floor with a crash.  
  
^v^  
  
Andrew snapped his head up. "What was that?" he whispered. Monica looked at him  
wide-eyed.  
  
"It came from the kitchen," she noted. They exchanged glances, then darted to the small kitchen.  
"Oh, no," she groaned. "My coffee maker -"  
  
Andrew ran a hand thru his hair in frustration. "Monica," he groaned, "She's gone again."  
  
The Irish angel looked up, and sighed. "Where did she go?" she wondered out loud.  
  
Andrew shrugged. "I don't know." He set his jaw. "But we'll find her."  
  
^v^  
  
I couldn't help laughing inside. This was going to be fun! I slithered quickly away, before they  
got there to see the mess I'd made. It was my nature to be mischievous. Suddenly a thought  
struck me. The other one - Tess, I think they called her, hated me. I could see it in her eyes. It  
wasn't the first time I'd come up against this kind of prejudice, but every time I got a kick out of  
their reactions to me - a Burmese python. An evil thought struck me. I had an idea - but it  
would wait.  
  
This time I decided to break something else.  
  
^v^  
  
A loud crash sounded from the bedroom. Monica looked helplessly at Andrew. They rushed  
into her small sleeping quarters. "The lamp!" she cried. Dropping to her knees, she fingered the  
pieces of the beautiful ceramic lamp that lay in pieces on the rug.  
  
Andrew sighed. "That snake." he muttered under his breath.  
  
^v^  
  
I was so entertained by these angels running around in their nightclothes to look for me. It was a  
riot!  
  
But now, I was going to have the most fun of all.  
  
^v^  
  
Andrew suddenly stood up, and moaned. "Monica," he said grimly, "The door's open."  
  
She stared at the open door in shock. "Oh no -" she mouthed. On the other side of the door,  
lying in a peaceful slumber - slept Tess.  
  
^v^  
  
I slithered over the still form in the bed. She caught her breath once, but didn't wake. I frowned.  
This was going to be harder than I thought. Well, I decided, no matter what happened -  
  
I slid over her face.  
  
She snorted once, and tried to brush me away. When that didn't work, she opened her eyes,  
annoyed. Her eyes grew full of shock once she saw me. I laughed. This was so much fun! Just  
to scare her more, I flicked out my tongue and touched her nose.  
  
She screamed.  
  
^v^  
  
Monica jerked her head up. "Oh no," she whispered.  
  
Andrew and Monica met each other's gaze.  
  
Tess.  
  
^v^  
  
"GET THIS THING OFF OF ME!!!!!!!!!!!!" Tess yelped as loudly as she possible could.  
  
Monica rushed in and picked up her pet. "Bad Rebekah," she scolded. "Baaaaaaad."  
  
Andrew quickly ran to his supervisor's bedside. "Tess -" he stammered. "Are you alright?"  
  
She glared at Monica and Rebekah, still trying to catch her breath. "No, I am NOT alright!" she  
shrieked. "That - that THING *touched* me!!!"  
  
Andrew tried hard not to laugh. "Don't worry, Tess," he comforted her. "Monica has her under  
control -"  
  
"Under control my foot!" she yelped. "That REPTILE SLITHERED ACROSS MY FACE!"  
  
"I know, and I'm sorry," Monica replied. "Now, just calm down and -"  
  
"CALM DOWN!? HOW CAN I CALM DOWN WITH THAT THING NEAR ME?!" she  
screeched.  
  
Monica saw the logic in this and ran to put Rebekah back in her cage - with the top on tight and  
several heavy books weighing down the top. Once she got back to Tess' room, she found her  
supervisor more or less calmed down, and grumbling and complaining to the angel of death  
about Monica's new pet.  
  
"I had a bad feeling about that thing," she grumbled. "I knew it was trouble. That's not the last  
evil thing it's gonna do."  
  
"Wait a minute," Monica interjected, offended. "Rebekah's not evil. She's just - mischievous,  
that's all."  
  
Tess shot her a Look. "Yeah, right," she mumbled. "Now, let's all get back to bed. That snake  
robbed me of some of my sleep already - it ain't gettin' a minute more."  
  
"She," Monica corrected her. "She - not it."  
  
But it was wasted, as Tess had already snuggled down into her covers and drifted off into  
dreamland.  
  
Andrew and Monica exchanged looks, and walked back in to their own bedrooms. "G'night,"  
Andrew called.  
  
"Goodnight, Andrew," Monica said kindly back.  
  
And in her cage, Rebekah was settling down as well - pleased with her night's work, and  
planning her next night of freedom. 


End file.
